1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to foldable chairs, in general, and to a collapsible children""s patio chair especially useful for casual seating, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Folding or collapsible chairs in the nature of furniture have been described in such U.S. Pat. No. as No. 3,635,520 (Roher et al) and No. 5,984,406 (Lee). In a multiple seat arrangement, they are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,928 (Staunton et al). For outdoor use, in camping and watching sports games, chairs of this type have been illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,605 (Chang). When a reclining chair is desired for camping, hiking, fishing, and concert events, a construction of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,068 (Levine) is said to be useful.
While chairs of these types may prove adequate to suit their intended purposes, their acceptability depends in large part upon their strength and reliability of operation. In these two areas, the folding chair of the Lee Patent (No. 5,984,406) falls somewhat short.
A significant improvement of these collapsible chairs is described in my pending United States Patent Application, entitled Collapsible Patio Chair, filed Apr. 28, 2000 as Ser. No. 09/561,339, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,13. However, the patio chair of the present invention goes one step further by being particularly attractive for use by children, in having the folding chair automatically locked in place once it is opened. The added safety feature which results will be seen to follow whether the patio chair be provided with an armrestxe2x80x94as in my Ser. No., 09/561,339 Application, or whether it be provided without an armrest.
As will become clear from the following description, the lockable, collapsible children""s patio chair of the invention consists of a frame including pairs of front crossed legs and rear crossed legs, and two pairs of side crossed legs, with each pair of crossed legs being pivotally connected together where they cross; first and second front pad connectors pivotally connected to lower ends of one of the front crossed legs and one of the side crossed legs, respectively; first and second rear pad connectors pivotally connected to lower ends of one of the rear crossed legs and the other of the side crossed legs, respectively; first and second front connectors pivotally connected to upper ends of the one front crossed leg and the other of the side crossed legs, respectively; first and second rear connectors pivotally connected to upper ends of the rear crossed legs and the one side crossed leg, respectively; a pair of side supports passing though apertures in each of the first and second rear connectors having lower ends fixedly connected to the rear pad connectors; and a fabric liner connected to the first and second front connectors and to upper ends of the pair of side supports.
To provide strength and reliability of operation beyond that characterizing the patented Lee design, the front connectors of the frame include a top surface having a notch therein open at one end and slightly larger than the diameter of the front crossed legs when composed as a tubular configuration, a first wall at an underside thereof defining one side of the notch and to which the upper ends of the front crossed legs are pivotally connected and a second wall at the underside, generally perpendicular to the first wall and combined therewith, to which the upper ends of the other of the side crossed legs are also pivotally connected. In like manner, each of the front and rear connector pads (as well as the rear connectors) include the two generally perpendicular walls for fastening with their respective pivotally connected legsxe2x80x94while the rear connector pads include apertures at the join of the two walls where the side supports are fixed.
In accordance with a particular aspect of the present invention, a compressible pin or snap button is included on one leg of at least one pair of side crossed legs to fit within an aperture in a slidable lock; that lock additionally includes a pivot connection to one end of a provided reinforcing bar, an opposite end of which is similarly pivotally connected to the other leg of that pair of side crossed legs. The end result is that a positive locking securement followsxe2x80x94whether the collapsible chair be provided with, or without armrests. Whereas such lock is preferably incorporated to slide downwardly along the one side leg as the chair is folded open, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the orientation can be reversedxe2x80x94so that the lock can slide upwardly to reach the position of securementxe2x80x94again, either for the patio chair design with an armrest inclusion, or without such implementation. And, as will be seen, the orientation can be such as to position the lock, once secure, adjacent to any or all of the front and rear pad connectors of the construction when slid downwardlyxe2x80x94or adjacent to either or both front connectors if slid upwardly.